blog posts

Innovation in Marketing Award: Division of Intercollegiate Athletics

The Division of Intercollegiate Athletics at Illinois is its own brand. In fact, it has its own mark – the Block I – which would be strictly forbidden for campus units. But as one of our most important affiliated agencies, DIA has been brand-building for much longer than the academic institution has, and now, under the direction of Mike Thomas, Warren Hood and many others, it has launched the Illinois: Our State, Our Team campaign and is including that slogan on everything it does, from billboards to Public Service Announcements.

The O-S-O-T campaign, as it’s called, fits so neatly into the campus “family” campaign that it strengthens the bonds between our identity as a Big Ten competitor and our identity as a world-class university. This is no accident – it reflects the intelligent marketing mindset of leaders who understand that our marketing efforts are mutually beneficial, and that we’re stronger when we speak with one voice.